Overview
- Government auditors reported 18 serious, non‑combat Osprey accidents in fiscal 2023–2024, with rates 36% to 88% higher than each service’s prior eight‑year average.
- A Naval Air Systems Command review said cumulative risk has grown since fielding and faulted the Joint Program Office for slow, uneven mitigation across services.
- Investigators highlighted transmission and proprotor gearbox failures, including hard clutch engagements and a gear manufacturing defect traced to 2006, factors in fatal 2022 California and 2023 Japan crashes that killed 13 of the 20 deaths since 2022.
- The GAO urged a defined oversight structure and routine multiservice data sharing on hazards, procedures, and maintenance, and the Pentagon concurred with all recommendations.
- Readiness shortfalls persist, with unscheduled maintenance about double Navy averages, undertrained maintainers, and risks left open for years, while fixes such as gearbox retrofits and a midlife upgrade carry timelines into the early 2030s.